[news 2009 - 2010]

Windsor’s Hôtel-Dieu Grace hospital adopts patient waiting list technology developed at Kingston General Hospital

April 14 , 2009

For immediate release

KINGSTON and WINDSOR, ON – A web-based patient waiting-list management tool developed and piloted at Kingston General Hospital is streamlining surgical services at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital in Windsor, ON.

The novel tool ensures patients that vital information about their preparation for surgery is now fully integrated between their surgeons’ offices and the hospital’s operating room services.

The hospital went live with Axcess.Rx™ and its pre-surgical preparation module, a software system developed by AdapCS.Canada Corp. of Kingston, in November.  

The unique software tool assists physicians in the preparation, prioritization, selection and booking of patients. It enhances and simplifies communication between the physicians ordering the procedures, the hospital departments where patients are prepared for surgery, the anesthetists and the operating room.

Surgeons now have a single system to maintain their waiting lists, prioritize their patients, ensure that the patients are prepared for surgery in accordance with defined hospital protocols, and confirm bookings in the OR, while also reporting patients to the Ontario Wait Times System (WTIS). 

“Once fully implemented, this system will reduce both data entry and paper-based processes. The surgeons can review consented cases to be booked and their future scheduled cases, says Dr. Allan Forse, Chief of Surgery at Hôtel-Dieu Grace.  “With the advent of the pre-anesthetic clinics that are based on pathways and best practice guidelines, surgeons will simply book the case and the scheduled patient is prepared in time for their operation.”

A further benefit of the system is its integration with provincial reporting requirements, he points out. “Axcess.Rx functions seamlessly with the provincial wait times system, such that surgeons do not have to process any WTIS data separately.”

Dr. John Marshall, President and CEO of AdapCS, notes that the installation of Axcess.Rx at HDGH could be expanded to cover the other hospitals in the region and provide a regional view of surgical demand and supply.

“Over the last few years we have developed our system to ensure that it meets the needs of both surgeons and hospitals in preparing patients for surgery. At the same time we have focused on the efficient use of available resources so that patients can be treated as soon as possible and hospitals can direct their resources to where they are most needed,” says Dr. Marshall.

Axcess.Rx™ was developed under the direction of Dr. Marshall, a long-time Kingston neurosurgeon and past chief of staff of KGH, and John Lott, Director of Information Analysis and Distribution for KGH. The technology forms the basis of AdapCS.Canada Corp. of Kingston, which markets Axcess.Rx™ and other software solutions and consulting services to the health care sector.

PARTEQ Innovations, the technology transfer agent of Kingston General Hospital, has filed for patent protection on the waiting list technology and has licensed exclusive rights for commercialization to AdapCS.Canada.  

Axcess.Rx™ is now in use at hospitals in Ontario and Nova Scotia. Hospitals and physicians credit the patent-pending technology with streamlining patient management, resulting in fewer cancellations and better “flow” of patients through the continuum of care.

Contacts:

W. John S. Marshall

President and CEO

AdapCS.Canada Corp.

P: 613. 531. 3008 xt 202

E: jmarshall@adapcscanada.com

Kim Spirou

Vice President

Communications & Development

Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital, Windsor

P: 519. 973. 4433